The Sugarhouse Blues

From New York Times bestselling author Mariah Stewart comes more "catnip for women's fiction fans" (Booklist) in the second novel of the Hudson Sisters series. Allie, Des, and Cara, each having her own reasons for wanting a share of their father's estate, meet in the grand Victorian home in which he grew up, only to be greeted by another secret he purposely hid from them: his sister Bonnie. The women reluctantly band together to take on Fritz's challenge, working with a local contractor to begin the renovations financed by an account Fritz had set up for the task. While the restoration appears to go smoothly at first, it soon becomes apparent that the work will be more extensive than originally thought, and Des, elected to handle the money, needs to find ways to stretch out the remaining savings while searching for new sources of funding. As strangers linked only by their DNA try to become a family, the Hudson sisters also try to come to terms with the father they only thought they knew. In the process, each woman discovers her own capacity for understanding, forgiveness, love, and the true meaning of family.

This tall tale contains a haunted sugar house, a haunted steamboat named the Grey Lady that, when she puts her mind to it can fly!

From Mariah Stewart, New York Times bestselling author of The Chesapeake Diaries series, comes the next book in her popular Hudson Sisters series, which follows a trio of reluctant sisters who set out to fulfill their father’s dying wish and discover themselves in the process in this “sweet reminder of the importance of family” (First for Women). California girl Allie Hudson Monroe can’t wait for the day when the renovations on the Sugarhouse Theater are complete so she can finally collect the inheritance from her father and leave Pennsylvania. After all, her life and her fourteen-year-old daughter are in Los Angeles. But Allie’s divorce left her tottering on the edge of bankruptcy, so to keep up on payments for her house and her daughter’s private school tuition, Allie packed up and flew out east. But fate has a curve-ball or two to toss in Allie’s direction—she just doesn’t know it yet. She hadn’t anticipated how her life would change after reuniting with her estranged sister, Des, or meeting her previously unknown half-sister, Cara. And she’d certainly never expected to find small-town living charming. But the biggest surprise was that her long-forgotten artistry would save the day when the theater’s renovation fund dried up. With opening day upon the sisters, Allie’s free to go. But for the first time in her life, she feels like the woman she was always meant to be. Will she return to the West Coast and resume her previous life, or will the love of “this amazing, endearing family of women” (Robyn Carr, #1 New York Times bestselling author) be enough to draw her back to the place where the Hudson roots grow so deep?

From New York Times bestselling author Mariah Stewart comes the first novel in her all-new series, The Hudson Sisters, following a trio of reluctant sisters as they set out to fulfill their father’s dying wish. In the process, they find not only themselves, but the father they only thought they knew. When celebrated and respected agent Fritz Hudson passes away, he leaves a trail of Hollywood glory in his wake—and two separate families who never knew the other existed. Allie and Des Hudson are products of Fritz’s first marriage to Honora, a beautiful but troubled starlet whose life ended in a tragic overdose. Meanwhile, Fritz was falling in love on the Delaware Bay with New Age hippie Susa Pratt—they had a daughter together, Cara, and while Fritz loved Susa with everything he had, he never quite managed to tell her or Cara about his West Coast family. Now Fritz is gone, and the three sisters are brought together under strange circumstances: there’s a large inheritance to be had that could save Allie from her ever-deepening debt following a disastrous divorce, allow Des to open a rescue shelter for abused and wounded animals, and give Cara a fresh start after her husband left her for her best friend—but only if the sisters upend their lives and work together to restore an old, decrepit theater that was Fritz’s obsession growing up in his small hometown in Pennsylvania’s Pocono Mountains. Guided by Fritz’s closest friend and longtime attorney, Pete Wheeler, the sisters come together—whether they like it or not—to turn their father’s dream into a reality, and might just come away with far more than they bargained for.

This witty and affecting memoir relays the misadventures of a commitment-phobic couple who, on the heels of a heartbreaking year, try to catapult themselves into adulthood by purchasing a dilapidated former crack house and attempting to turn it into a home.

Until her paper, the Baltimore Star, crashed and burned, Tess Monaghan was a damn good reporter who knew her hometown intimately -- from historic Fort McHenry to the crumbling projects of Cherry Hill. Now gainfully unemployed at twenty-nine, she's willing to take any freelance job to pay the rent -- including a bit of unorthodox snooping for her rowing buddy, Darryl "Rock" Paxton. In a city where someone is murdered almost everyday, attorney Michael Abramowitz's death should be just another statistic. But the slain lawyer's notoriety -- and his noontime trysts with Rock's fiancee -- make the case front page news...and points to Rock as the likely murderer. But trying to prove her friend's innocence couls prove costly to Tess -- and add her name to that infamous ever-growing list.

WINNER OF THE NERO WOLFE AWARD 'A fantastic story with great twists and surprises.' 5* reader review 'One of the best crime novelists writing today.' TESS GERRITSEN A TESS MONAGHAN MYSTERY Tess Monaghan's life is back on course. She's beginning to make a name for herself as a PI, she's even banking good money. Then her father asks her a favour: to investigate the prison death of a friend's brother - the confessed killer of a Jane Doe. It's not until the shocking discovery of the Jane Doe's true identity turns deadly that Tess realises that her life may have taken a very wrong turn indeed - one from which there is no going back. . . 'A moving feast of a book' Washington Post 'Compelling. . . those who know Baltimore should be captivated by how the author uses the city.' 5* reader review 'Great story. . . lots of plot twists and excellent resolution.' 5* reader review 'I'm convinced that Lippman can do no wrong. I'm now on her 6th book and I can't put down the Tess Monaghan series. Fantastic!' 5* reader review PRAISE FOR THE TESS MONAGHAN SERIES 'Tess is a heroine with a nose for what she is not being told, and she is never content with half the story. These Baltimore novels are effective thrillers, because they are stories about wanting to know what happens next.' Times Literary Supplement 'Whip smart female protagonist, gritty Baltimore setting. Loved Tess!' 5* reader review 'Readers won't be able to resist Tess, who, like one of Baltimore's famous crabs, sports a tough shell that hides a sweet centre.' BOOKLIST 'Digestible, fun, tense' NPR 'In this series, Lippman has developed sturdy tales, wry humour, and snappy dialogue wrapped around an insider's view of Baltimore.' SUN-SENTINEL 'Tess, is a ballsy, free-spirited woman who thinks on her feet and has a commanding physical presence. . . Highly recommend' 5* reader review 'What fun! I discovered a new (to me) mystery series. Tess Monaghan is a terrific main character.' 5* reader review 'I really have fallen in love with Tess Monaghan. These mystery novels well deserve the awards Lippman has won.' 5* reader review

From the New York Times bestselling author of the Chesapeake Diaries series comes an “irresistible” (Publishers Weekly) novel in her Hudson Sisters series, which follows a trio of reluctant sisters who set out to fulfill their father’s dying wish and discover themselves in the process. California girl Allie Hudson Monroe can’t wait for the day when the renovations on the Sugarhouse Theater are complete so she can finally collect the inheritance from her father and move on with her life. After all, her life and her fourteen-year-old daughter are in Los Angeles. Allie’s divorce left her teetering on the edge of bankruptcy, so to keep up on payments for her house and her daughter’s private school tuition, Allie packed up and flew out east. But fate has a curveball or two to toss in her direction. She hadn’t anticipated how her life would change after reuniting with her estranged sister, Des, or meeting her previously unknown half-sister, Cara. And she’d certainly never expected to find small-town living charming. But the biggest surprise was that her long-forgotten artistry would save the day when the theater’s renovation fund dried up. With opening day upon the sisters, Allie’s free to go. But for the first time in her life, she feels like the woman she was always meant to be. Will she return to the West Coast and resume her previous life, or will the love of “this amazing, endearing family of women” (Robyn Carr, #1 New York Times bestselling author) be enough to draw her back to the place where the Hudson roots grow so deep?